Main menu

Texas may get another IndyCar date this season

The Izod IndyCar Series could close out the 2012 season at Texas Motor Speedway in October. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

In just four days, Texas Motor Speedway might have gone from not having another IndyCar race ever to having another yet this year.

The quick turn of events was confirmed as a possibility Wednesday when track president Eddie Gossage said IndyCar has interest in returning for a season-ending race, likely Oct. 7.

The situation became a necessity for IndyCar when the promoter of the Aug. 19 race in Qingdao, China, canceled the event due to a scheduling conflict with an international beer festival in the city. IndyCar needs to fill that race to fulfill contracts with partners, including TV and Izod.

“The thought is intriguing to potentially have Texas Motor Speedway once again play host to the IndyCar season finale, just like we did from 1999 to 2004, in the nation's fourth-largest media market,” Gossage said in a statement. “However, we did not have the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR triple-header in early November at that time, and a September or early October date could pose several obstacles on a variety of fronts that we would have to consider before making a decision.

“Considering the shrinking window to properly promote the season finale to its fullest, we will have to make a decision fairly quickly.”

IndyCar wouldn't have been interested in a return to Texas Motor Speedway without a successful aerodynamic package that it showed in Saturday night's race won by Justin Wilson.

IndyCar likely also is considering a race at Road America and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Pocono Raceway told the Associated Press that its track is not available.